I slept well and woke to the sound of rain outside. I really didn’t want to hurry out and get wet.
Olivier made me some breakfast which was unexpected and really appreciated. We talked about many things over baguette, eggs and a couple of coffees. It turns out that Olivier is a musician, composer and teacher of note. He showed me videos of performances of his work and gave me some background on them. He plays the Bassoon in an orchestra here in Lyon. This is his website : https://www.oliviermassot.com/
After a while, the rain decreased and I said my goodbyes and promised to stay here again, the next time I’m in Lyon. They are both interesting and lovely people.
The ride back to central Lyon was far easier – downhill all the way. It was drizzling a bit and I zigzagged my way through the really nice CBD area, got some more food and started the journey south. I had done 35kms before I felt that I was completely free of Lyon, and I joined the via Rhona which is a bike route that would take me all the way to Avignon.
Almost as soon as I joined the via Rhona, it became undulating single track and I wondered what I was in for. It was a load of fun, but slow going.
It had been a slow day already and I wanted to get to my destination before dark.
I shouldn’t have worried, as the path flattened out and I tracked beside the river for the rest of the day. There was hardly any wind and the river and surrounding towns and villages looked great.
I made it to the campground near La Maladiére at about 6pm after 90kms, cleaned up and went in to the village in search of some food for dinner. The guy at the local supermarket is Tunisian, speaks good English and is an absolute livewire. He was full of questions and comments about my travel, what I should eat, what beer I should get etc.
Dinner was a few salads and a very average (but recommended) beer. Luckily, the expected rain turned out to be just a few bits a drizzle.
